Bar Stool Economics:

A Simple Guide to the American System of Taxation and Distribution

Mac Slavo
July 25th, 2012

Uncle Sam, the thief, taking citizens for a ride!!!
"I'm for a flat tax -- as long as the flat rate is zero.
The object is to get rid of big government,
not find a new way of financing it." Harry Browne

 

Uncle Sam is a THIEF!
SEE THIS AS INTERNET PAGE

 

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for a beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100.

If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

  • The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
  • The fifth would pay $1.00
  • The sixth would pay $3.00
  • The seventh would pay $7.00
  • The eighth would pay $12.00
  • The ninth would pay $18.00
  • The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.00

So that’s what they decided to do. The men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with arraignment, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.

"Since you are all such good customers, he said, I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.00."

Drinks for the ten men now cost just $80.00

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men – the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get there "fair share?” They realized that $20.00 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay!

And so:

  • The fifth man like the first four, now paid nothing ( 100% savings).
  • The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
  • The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
  • The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
  • The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
  • The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before! And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20" declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, " but he got $10!”

"Yeah, that’s right, shouted the seventh man. "why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!”

"Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in union. " We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!”

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalist and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

Watch this video!

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.

For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

Hat tip Brother Slavo via David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D. The original author of this simple guide is unknown.

[Editor's Note: The story doesn't quite end this way...when the remaining nine men realized that they didn't have enough money to pay the bill, one of the men (name was Ben) said, "I have the extra bucks right here! I printed them last night in my basement."

 

Why Do We Need Term Limits?

John Adams said, “Without [term limits] every man in power becomes a ravenous beast of prey”. That being said, here are some of the reasons we believe our country needs Term Limits.

  1. Term Limits can help break the cycle of corruption in Congress. Case studies show that the longer an individual stays in office, the more likely they are to stop serving the public and begin serving their own interests.
  2. Term Limits will encourage regular citizens to run for office. Presently, there is a 94% re-election rate in the House and 83% in the Senate. Because of name recognition, and usually the advantage of money, it can be easy to stay in office. Without legitimate competition, what is the incentive for a member of Congress to serve the public? Furthermore, it is almost a lost cause for the average citizen to try to campaign against current members of Congress.
  3. Term Limits will break the power special interest groups have in Congress.
  4. Term Limits will force politicians to think about the impact of their legislation because they will be returning to their communities shortly to live under the laws they enacted.
  5. Term Limits will bring diversity of people and fresh ideas to Congress.

    6. Term limits for lawmakers: when is enough, enough?

[Editor's Note: If you want to get rich, i.e. advance from a low paying government bureaucrat job on the local or state level, THEN GET ELECTED TO THE US CONGRESS (House or Senate). Once you're elected, it's easy to steal from your campaign contributions or the Congressional budget allocated to your seat and staff. You can go on a government-funded junket with 'lavishly' paid expenses. The list of ways to steal from the government while in office is inexhaustible. There are only a few Congressmen who left Congress just wealthy instead of a multi-millionaire. Of course, there are several who arrived in Congress as multi-millionaires and don't need to steal from the government.]